Which to use
“verpflichten” and “verpflichtet” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,390
- “verpflichten” frequency rank
- #2,184
- “verpflichtet” frequency rank
- 12574
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verpflichten | verpflichtet |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemanden in die Pflicht nehmen, etwas zu tun | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs verpflichten |
Where the eye mixes verpflichten and verpflichtet
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence. verpflichten and verpflichtet follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCCCVCCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses verpflichten with verpflichtet
A purely visual mix-up. verpflichten ([fɛɐ̯ˈp͡flɪçtn̩]) and verpflichtet ([fɛɐ̯ˈp͡flɪçtət]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by a single letter - n in “verpflichten” becomes t in “verpflichtet”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12574, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
verpflichten is recorded at frequency rank #10,390, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈp͡flɪçtn̩]. verpflichtet is at rank #2,184, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈp͡flɪçtət].
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 12574, this pair ranks #1,963,370 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of verpflichten vs verpflichtet
Shared letters: cefhilprtv. Private to "verpflichten": n. Private to "verpflichtet": -.
"verpflichten" · 12 letters · shape CVCCCCVCCCVC · "verpflichtet" · 12 letters · shape CVCCCCVCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- verpflichten ← evrpflichten · veprflichten · verfplichten · verpfflichten · verpfilchten · verpflcihten · verpflicchten · verpflichetn
- verpflichtet ← evrpflichtet · veprflichtet · verfplichtet · verpfflichtet · verpfilchtet · verpflcihtet · verpflicchtet · verpflichett
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "verpflichten" and "verpflichtet" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "verpflichten" vs "verpflichtet" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "verpflichten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "verpflichtet" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,963,370 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verpflichten" and "verpflichtet" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verfluchten vs verpflichten". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #1,963,370 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.